𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫? - 𝐓𝐌𝐑 𝐀𝐔, 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐨

022 - faded memories

At this point I can't even remember how many times I've passed out. Two? Three? All I know is I have passed out multiple times, and now I'm awake again. And apparently I've been passed out for two days.

"Ley!" Minho rushes straight over to me, burying my body in his. "Oh my god, are you okay? What happened?"

I try to recall the moments before I passed out, but the only thing I can remember is playing capture the flag, and then something hits me on my head.

"Ley?"

"Uh, well," I stammer. "I remember playing capture the flag and I had gone to look for their flag. And something hit me on the head."

"Well, can you explain," he pulls back the covers of the bed I'm lying in, revealing a stab wound in my side, "this."

I look at it in disgust. "What the fuck?"

He raises an eyebrow at me, clearly suspicious I'm not telling him something. "What happened to you, and why was there a knife in your body when we found you?"

"I don't know." It's true; I don't know how or when I got stabbed. I don't remember much, other than playing capture the flag.

"Are you sure that you don't know?" He questions. "Because we heard you screaming. If I'm being honest, you scream a lot. No offence."

I snort. "That's what she said."

"Ley," he scolds sternly. "Be serious."

I tilt my head, shrugging with one shoulder. "Since when could I be serious?"

He shakes his head. "Please, Ley. I need to know what happened."

I squeeze my eyes shut and go back to when I passed out in the woods. I woke up again.

"Hello?" I call. "Where am I?" No answer.

I try to stand up, but my head hits more stone.

All of a sudden, a glowing figure appears, lighting up my surroundings. I'm in a cave.

The first thing I notice is markings on the cave. Not markings; words. A message. To me.

I WARNED HIM

"There was a message," I start to explain, my voice shaking. "Carved onto the wall. It said I warned him."

"Talking about me?" Minho asks.

I nod. "Probably."

Keeping my eyes closed, I try to remember more.

It's a knife. A bloody knife. And it's fresh blood.

"Who are you?" I scream, my voice filled with terror. "What do you want from me?"

"Get away from that boy," the voices echo around. Though, something seems off about it. It doesn't sound like Tyler. "The Minho one."

"The one I kissed?" I ask, trying to sound confident, though I can't. "About that... no."

"Then I'll have to kill you."

"You know, Tyler. I'm really starting to love threats."

A pause. "What?"

"They make me feel warm inside, you know what I mean?"

"Um, no."

"Well, the way you're threatening me makes me feel warm inside." My grip on the knife tightens. "It lights my mood up. So thank you."

The sound of a chuckle echoes across, and it sends chills down my body. I cringe as He speaks. "You're welcome, Whitley. I've always wanted you to say that."

I force myself not to gag. "Really? Well, I'll gladly say it again."

"Then do it." His smirk is audible.

I watch as his figure approaches. I position the knife.

"I told you to say it," he commands, voice turning annoyed. "So say it. Do you want to die?"

I shrug. "Sure."

"Don't say 'sure'!" He yells.

"Yeah, it was about you," I confirm.

"Well, shit." He looks down, seeming ashamed. "At least you are still alive though, right?"

I nod. "Right."

"What else happened?"

"There was a man. He was threatening me to get away from you. He— He asked if I wanted to die. Um, and then he said he wanted me to tell him..." I trail off in embarrassment.

"He wanted you to tell him what, Ley?" Minho prompts, his voice comforting.

I swallow. "He wanted me to tell him some weird words. Like that he made me feel warm inside."

"What the fuck?" Minho mutters from beside me. "Is that it?"

I nod.

"And what about the knife?" He asks. "How did you get stabbed?"

I try to recall the moment, but I can't. "I don't remember. Sorry."

"It's okay," Minho reassures me. "Don't apologise."

There's a slight moment of silence before I speak again. "What did I miss while I was out?"

"Nothing much," he responds, shrugging with one shoulder. "But we finished our sports rotation."

I look at him, my head tilted. "Oh? What rotation are we on now?"

He thinks for a minute before saying, "Art. We're starting soon, I think the challenge is getting explained now."

"Are we split into partners again?"

"Wow, you sure are asking a lot of questions," he exhales. "And yes, we do."

"Who's my partner?" We say in unison; it was quite obvious what I was going to ask.

He hesitates before speaking. "Your partner is Astrid."

"What?" I yell, my eyes widening. "Not her! Anyone but her, please!"

He shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Ley."

"Why can't you be my partner?" I request.

"I want to be your partner too, but—"

"I thought you said you wanted us to be friends?" I chuckle at my joke.

"Oh my god, Ley." He shakes his head, but I can tell he's holding back laughter.

"I'm so funny."

He nods. "You are."

I smile grows on my face as he holds his hand out for me. I take it and use him to pull myself off the bed. When I'm stable on the ground, my side feels unexpectedly fine. I look at Minho and he returns the smile planted on my lips.

"Shall we go to art?" I suggest, faking a posh accent.

"We shall."